Yes, now that I'm an empty nester I try to travel to see the world and I usually do races.This time the Great Wall of China half marathon. My husband is gone all the time, so I do the planning and give him the dates My big boy will stay at a kennel, but my guide dog will have to stay with an authorized sitter. Our group has people that don't raise right now, but have gone through training, so they can sit for our babies. It's nice, but get's hectic around the summertime.Having the dogs makes vacations a planning adventure in itself. Wish it would warm up here. Off for a cupa! Kathy

LK- You know those apple shaped ppl with skinny legs? Well that's me girl. Since I have been on the C25K program my legs have awesome calve muscles but that's about it. I really thought I had lost some inches along the way but not yet. I read on another team that this lady kept gaining and so she added 2 more glasses of water to her reg. 8 and lost 1 lb the next day. That's great but dag...it's really hard for me to get my 8 down.Sometimes I just tip the mug up and gulp and try not to think about it. I just don't get thirsty.

Jemifer, keep your head up. Because of the exercising, you are probably building muscle and that weighs more than fat. I know cause I have plenty and always have. Just keep on keeping on, have things checked out with your dr cause there maybe something else.

Kathy, have fun when you go to China. Boy, you must travel. We do good to go outside of GA, though do visit AL and FL once in a while. Don't usually travel more than 5 hrs from home though. We are homebodies. lol

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Jennifer-I'm glad you vented. That's what we are here for. Good idea to go to the doctor. I know I feel that way sometimes. I am so tired of watching my wt!!!!! I'm off to China in a few weeks, so trying to lose a few before I go. I have cut out all processed food and breads to help with the bloating. It works for me, but we are all different. Keep up the good work and you will see results. Kathy

I am so aggrivated today. It's my wt in and I gained 1.5 lb. I have not lost since I have joined SP. I have change all my eating habits, workout more and still the scale goes the wrong way. I can't wait to go for my doctors appt on the 7th. I think my gall bladder is not working and the MD thinks this could be some of the problem.

Just needed to vent. It's off to have Bailey's nails trimmed. Have a good day everyone! Jennifer

Jennifer, we have been traveling the past 3 weekends doing things with kids. Went camping with dd and her family and Toby Wed-Sat, next weekend Thurs-Sun spent with ds, and last weekend Fri-Sun went to dd's home for youngest granddaughter's bd. Toby is pooped along with 2-legged parents. lol I think that he wants to stay home and play in him own backyard and not travel for a while. He was getting a little antsy, anti-social with folks, young and old. He has never been that way. We are talking about taking him to the vet if his attitude doesn't improve over the next few days or the rest of this week.

Hope everyone had a great moving weekend and will continue to do great this week. Move, dance, groove, and walk those children.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Thanks! Looks like everyone was out this weekend(not many post) That's great! I had to work but I got up early this morning and trained for my 5K and now Bailey and I are on our way for a 2 mile walk. Here's to you having an awesome day!

Good morning everyone! Got my exercise out of the way first thing this morning. I think Bailey is ready for his walk now so I may have to go do that soon. I had to brag and let you know that I have updated my photo gallary so you can all see how big Bailey is getting. Handsome isn't he? Hope you all have a great day!

I was just thinking about Fletchy when I went to bed last night. If something happened to me...I don't know where he would go. I know my parents would love him and take care of him...but he wouldn't get run like he does now :(

If you look around much, you can't help but see folks that need a whooping for how they treat their pets/animals. I used to watch Animal Cops but it got to giving me nightmares. We have told the kids that Toby better be taken care of like we do if something happens to us. If they didn't, Toby would inherit everything we have (not much, but more than they want to go to Toby). lol

Edited by: LKWQUILTER at: 4/16/2008 (16:38)

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Poor Katie. I think she is feeling sad is the reason she has been eating. We went out to my mom's again last night and she is moping again. This is the most time we have spent out there since we had to put Snickers down. The two were insperable when they were together. I feel so bad for her. She seems so confused as to why there is a new puppy and everything.

We have done so much traveling lately that mine has become a bum. She thinks she should go everywhere with me and if I could I probably would take her but I don't think work would go for it. She wouldn't fit under my desk very well and would have to go up and touch everyone. If I even touch the suit case she is at my heels and if I grab the dog bag then she sits by the door and won't let me out of her sight. Yes she has her own bag. It makes it so much easier to just throw all of her stuff in it and it is at your finger tips. Plus then I don't forget to take something. Too many years of 4-H.

We are getting ready to go again Thursday and Toby is already noticing. He is on his best behavior even though we have told him he is going again too. This month is very unusual for us as we are normally homebodies. lol

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

My son is always telling me that too. I tell she doesn't talk back, eat as much as him and I don't have to worry about her getting into trouble so of course there are times I like her better. He is a teenager. Big pain.

Katie was acting like that too yesterday. Maybe there was something in the air. I was worried she got sick from jumping in the lake Sunday. The water was pretty cold. She is going into summer mode too where she doesn't eat for a couple of days. She seems alright otherwise. We went for a walk yesterday and she sniffed up the world I think or at least tried to.

Toby did not want to go outside everything dh went yesterday and today is just going out and laying around. I hope he is getting ready to go again Thursday when we travel to Atlanta to visit ds. It will be much easier up there as ds has a boxer, Missy, and they will get to play together in the house. He will only be on a leash when we take him for walks. Our 2-legged kids claim we take better care of the 4-legged kids than we did them. lol

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

You are right. And I will freely admit that I count mine as one of my kids. She isn't just a dog to me and neither is my mom's new little Abby. I used to call them the girls since they were both the same age. Now I have to think of something new to call them since one is big and one is little.

We took Abby fishing with us yesterday. What a big weekend she had. She was so tired on the ride home that she crashed next to Katie. Katie wasn't too impressed but let her sleep anyway.

Katie doesn't usually bark either unless she is in the vehicle. Then I think she thinks she needs to guard dog me. She does that with men sometimes if she doesn't like they way they look. She has been known to growl if they get too close. She is not dog friendly. She would be good during 4-H though when she was on leash. I think she knew she had to or something. So we were a little concerned when we got Abby but so far the only misshap was today. Our fist car ride with both dogs. Abby jumped on Katie and Katie yelled. We were excepting something so we were both on our guard. But other than that Katie has been so tolerant. She even let Abby fall asleep with her head resting against Katie's bum. It was so cute.

Hope everyone does great. Toby did not misbehave and was such a gentleman around other people and pets. He did not understand why a toy poodle couldn't play with him cause he looked exactly like our Malachi who died when Toby was only 3. This little silve poodle was the spitting image of Malachi. Other than that one dog, Toby didn't even bark at the other dogs even though some of them barked at him. I was so proud of him.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Linda-Glad the vacation went so well and Toby did great with the boat. I don't think the engine would be a problem for Katie either. The water would be too tempting. The only thing she freaks out with is the vac. She could care less about the lawn mower. And Katie will be the same way when we go in vac in Sept with the runner. The leash she is really good on but hasn't been tied up in forever. It will be interesting to see what Abby does. I am sure she will take her cues from the big dog. I told mom Abby should be big enough by the end of May to start leash training her so that will be our big project this summer. We don't let them run around when we fish and keep them on leash next to us. That way we don't distrub other people around us or the fish we are trying to catch and we have a 4-H fishing trip we are going on 17th.

They will surprise you. When Toby had his little procedure, he literally licked part of his stitches out, we went immediately back to the ver, and he said it was ok. Everything was healing like it was suppose to and not to worry. Just come back at the end of the week and the vet would remove the rest, if Toby hadn't already done it.

As for the the boat, Toby did wonderful. He jumped right in and sat like he as king of the hill (which he is according to dh). Dh did not take him far from shore but he now knows that Toby is not afraid of the boat motor when it is running. We had another lab, Rambo, and he hated any small motor, lawn mower, weed eater, chain saw, ets. He would go ballistic and actually bite my dh because dh's leg was between Rambo and the lawn mower tire which Rambo was trying to attack. Dh couldn't say anything because we all knew that Rambo did not like engine noise. We think it hurt his ears though vet could not fine any reason why.

The vacation was wonderful for 2 days--fantastic weather, fun, fun, fun, and Toby had a blast. We walked, walked and walked some more. He is not used to being on a leash or runner 24/7 so that was not his greatest joy, but in the tent, he did so well.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

My girlfriend has a male newfanland that was just recently neutered and he had a discharge like that. The vet said it was normal and I guess they can discharge from their insicion for up to 2 weeks. I would just watch it and watch what color it is. Girls seem to be much less work but it has been a long time since my girl was spade. I would suggest just keep him semi quiet or as quiet as you can for a lab for a couple more days then take him for some short walks. No jumping until he is totally healed and no swimming. Don't want to rip the stitches. Poor guy. I always feel sorry for them but it is for the best. Katie had a lipoma removed from her tummy and two days later we had to do a road trip. She was in the car for over 3 hours.

He seems better today. He wants to play today but can't really play like he wants. I have to make him calm down. No bleed notice either thank goodness. Last night he had 4 big drops of fresh blood and it scared me.

He might have - did they send you home with a "neck ring" that keeps him from being able to reach the incision? This could keep him from licking until everything mends a bit more - especially if you're not near by to interrupt his licking. Poor baby - I'm sure tomorrow will be better!

Bailey might not each much today. Don't get too worried. They sometimes don't after surgery. Katie had some lipomas removed a few weeks ago and she didn't each much either. And the swelling will do down so that there is nothing. Just don't let him lick it too much. That can make them swell even more.

Carry, your Katie has such a beautiful face. I agree with you - I'm not sure I could control my pups around water - they love it so much. Last summer my big Mason scared me because there were people kayaking and he swam up to them. I worried he'd tip them over. Luckily we've taught him to come on command and he actually stopped and swam back to me. Whew!

Linda I have never taken Katie in a boat. I hope Toby stays in. I would be afraid Katie would see the water and not be able to control herself. We don't have to worry about alligators here but I would still worry about her. You will have to let me know how it goes. She is great in a tent and camping though. I feel very safe with her around and very warm.

Ok, bear with me...I am not a quilter...so I don't know the correct terms. But, what I have seen...and would like to have made someday is as follows. You cut the squares out of t-shirts from races etc. that you do and then use them for the front of the quilt. Does that make sense?

We are going on vacation with dd and her family--camping and fishing. Have you ever taken Katie out in a boat? Dh wants to try Toby. I am a little skittish about that. I know there are alligators in the lake and am afraid he might jump in. We will find out. Will talk to ya'll later, probably when we get back. Dd is taking her laptop but don't know if there will be internet connection or not. lol

Everyone have a great week.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Katie is the same way. My mom tells me I should scold her and not let her be so vocal but when we are out catfishing at night in the middle of no where mom likes it when she is vocal. Keeps the weirdos away.

No I don't. We do go to some craft shows but they have not been the best the last couple of years. Very few quilts, mainly quilt guilds selling raffle tickets for a quilt. There are a lot of antiques but also so-called antiques are junk. I have enough of that myself.

They do think the labor is free. That is why I tell them to buy the fabric and they can spend what they want for it and what I get is just mine. Now I don't do things for anyone except immediate family or for gifts.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Do you go to craft shows and quilt shows? I have only been to 2 and no one at the show did very well. I know here in NC the shows were slow last yr. Hopefully things will pick up this yr. It's a great stress reliever don't you think? I know the quilt purses are $50 and up. I think you were cutting them a good deal. You know what's funny too......When they say how much will you charge if I buy the fabric?...I think sometimes they think the work is free LOL!

Don't I know it. Someone asked me what I would charge just to handquilt a quilt top and I told them about .50 an hour. They thought I was crazy. They wanted a dollar amount. I told them about $100 to $150 (for a king-size quilt). Needless to say, I did not quilt it. I don't think they ever found anyone to do it. I saw a machine quilted quilt that a friend of mine paid $90 for and it was ruined. She had used expensive fabric ($8-$9/yd) and the top fit a queen size bed. I would have been over the top if it had been mine.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

LK..Love the quilt! I have never made one. I sew smaller things and sell them at a store on base. I don't make much money but that's fine with me. It's a hobby not my career.(u know u never get paid for your time with crafts)

I don't think we could get a better guard dog than Toby. He has never hurt anyone and has only really growled at 2 people. They respected him and stayed back. Everyone else he will back and jump but then lick and want kisses. His size scares people. He only weighs 105-110 lbs and is a very large lab.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Hi team-mates! Well, I made Bailey an appt to be snipped Wed. morning. I hate to leave him overnight:( He will be 6months next week and loves ppl. He don't really bark though. Only to get back into the house when no one is standing there to let him in. If another dog barks at him...his fur stands up some and he whines. What a big baby! I want to get a German Sheppard but I am going to wait a few yrs until we retire. I want a bigger yard.

Fletch wants to be a guard dog...but he can't quite get over his nice dog instincts! He will bark at strangers with his toy in his mouth and his tail wagging! I've seen him with his hackles up once or twice...but for the most part. Friendly dog! As far as patrolling the house? Fletch sleeps right thru the night. I am the one that wakes up...not him!

Katie isn't that way. She is our protector. She has been known to growl if she doesn't like the way someone looks. Mostly men so when we go fishing we feel pretty safe with her around. I don't know if she would actually do anything but she sure sounds like she would. Now if it were a kid they could just walk up, no problem. We had a lab growing up that no one would come into the yard when we weren't home. We had a new colt one time and the neighbor came by to look at him. Bernie sat and waited until she was heading back to her pickup and then nipped her in the butt and the UPS and meter readers would not get out of their vehicles at all. But when he was a way from home of running around with my brother and his friends he was a big lush.

Toby just loves people but because of his size, many are afraid of him the first time they meet. Some family will not come in the backyard if we are out there unless we open the gate for them. Our water and electric meter readers will not come in the backyard if Toby is out. They are almost petrified of him. He is just a big baby and wants loving. lol

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Our border collie lab mix patrols the house several times each night. She loops to each room and then back to our bedroom. Our lab just watches her and only joins in if he thinks she's been gone too long. We feel pretty safe too. However, they're gentle souls and so they'd probably just lick an intruder to pieces. till they can have a rough bark when needed and it gives the impression that we're well protected! Maizey

How neat. That is what I have mine for too. I am a single mom and she keeps an eye on things for us. My son who is 16 hates being home alone without her. When I was traveling back and forth from CSU I was taking Katie with and by the last weekend he begged me to leave her so he wouldn't have to sleep in the house alone. I just laughed at him. But I totally knew where he was coming from.

I do love the little demons, but I do love for them to go home. Now when our ds comes with his boxer Missy, it is so nice. Missy is so much calmer in the house and she sleeps in Toby's recliner. Toby sleeps in our room most of the night, on the floor, in our bed, by the bedroom door--he patrols the house and that helps my dh sleep better since he is totally deaf.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Thanks but no thanks. I don't care for little dogs. They bark too much. Actually more like yap. My girlfriend has a yorkie. He is alright. I think Abby will catch on quickly how to torment them. Maybe Izza will loose some weight if she runs down the hallway enough times. Either that or she will give up running and just slap her in her place. I am sure she is a little disgruntal having to raise another puppy. Ugly, she showed up at mom's with no hair a few years ago and the name has just stuck she has hair now, doesn't run and has already slapped Abby but didn't use her claws. She is actually pretty gentle. It is quite the household. The hags used to get to fighting and every once in awhile Snickers would get tired of it and let out this huge bark and the cats would go running in all directions. The first time she did it my mom about had a heart attack and then about fell out of her chair laughing. Can just picture it now. Cats running in all directions with the dog in the middle.

Yes I did watch the nascar race. I think Denny Hamlin won (won't swear to it) but Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson didn't and Dale Jr. came in 6th. I am a Jr fan but don't especially care for Jeff or Jimmy. I liked Dale Sr. too.

hurrah, they came and got the dogs. Tonight I will not have a dog hat when I go to bed. Prissy has that long hair, she's allergic to grass and scratches off and on all the time, so one does not have a peaceful night with her on top of your head. lol

Glad ya'll got new pup. I know no one can take Snickers place but you will be busy training and tending to new one and that helps.

Maybe you need to borrow Prissy and Curly for a day or two and they will definitely torment the hags like they do Toby. lol

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

How was the the race? I assume you were watching nascar. I haven't been able to watch a race this season yet. We were traveling back & forth with Snickers which was more important and then the last couple of weekends there has always been something. We had to go puppie toy shopping. Apparently Abby carried Dad's shoe into her bed and laid on it like Katie used to do all of the time. She didn't chew it which is good. And she was chasing all of the cats. The hags need to be chased a little bit. They are so ornery. My mom has 3 hags but calls them something else. They pick on each other and need a little stiring up. The one raised Snickers and since last week has drove mom crazy. She has to be with her all of the time and normally isn't very lovey.

Today the weather is not very pretty. It is damp cold with wind and not fun to be outside. Even the dogs are not enthused about being out. I will just have to work on the gazelle while I am watching the race. Hope everyone has a great day.

Forgot, dd comes home this afternoon and dogs go home. I will enjoy going bed without head warmer tonight. Please have her come get them. lol

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

Dear Carry - I'm so sorry to hear that you had to euthanize Snickers. This is so hard but a final act of love for your faithful friend. I know that you'll have a void in your heart forever, but I'm glad to hear you have a new pup.

Linda - I know that those small dogs can rule the roost. My brother has a Schnauzer who bosses our labs, a Newfoundland and a Bermise Mountain dog when we're all together. Small dog but big attitude!

We hi the dog park for 1.5 hours yesterday. All of us were exhausted but happy. Today we're indoors as its rainy outside. Maizey

Carrie, we had to have several pet put down and it is like losing a child. Believe me, I know how you feel. We waited 2 months when Rambo died. We were taking him to the vet when he had his last heart attack. The vet didn't even charge us for going to the office after hours.

We are grand sitting dd's 2 dogs this weekend and Toby is having fun but I think he is ready for them to go home. They are small (shettzu and shettzu mix) and very hyper. Tobo is laid back and much calmer. Also they try to take his chair, toys, and want whatever he has. But he is so good with them. He lets them rule the roost. Everyone have a great active weekend and keep on moving and losing. Glad to know that ya'll are ok.

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

We had to put Snickers down on the 18th and I just haven't been able to get on any of the dog websites until recently. It was just too painful for a while there.

On a happier note we went and picked up a chocolate lab puppy today to help fill the huge void. Mom just couldn't be without a dog. We are both already attached. She is too adorable. Now I just have to get Katie to accept her.

Hi Linda and Lab Lover teammates- I'm on tonight for a bit. It has been a hectic week at work and I was sick at the end of the week. The labs and I got great exercise at the dog park today - temperatures hit mid-40's which is cause for celebration here in Wisconsin. Tonight we're all exhausted, but mighty happy. Hope you're all doing well. Maizey

I have not been getting my SP messages like I am suppose to lately and got to thinking that I have not heard from this team lately. I know that several of you are huddling, cause I went and checked this evening. Hope everyone is doing fine and losing lots.

Edited by: LKWQUILTER at: 3/29/2008 (19:46)

Trust God, believe in yourself, and keep looking forward. You can't change the past. You are always special.

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